Dear friends, share with you a Korean restaurant specializes in Korean beef " Han6gam" , which is located in Jong Ro,Seoul ( Jong Gak Subway Station , exit No l )... The basic full course price is about 70,000 won per person.

"Yuk Hwe "/육회 , tomatoes are placed at the bottom layer of the cup, followed by onion, raw ground beef,egg.。。 There is one quail egg, "squeeze" the quail egg on top of the cup before you enjoy it..
牛脍，在杯的最底层放了一层的番茄，然后再放上洋葱，鲜牛肉脍，蛋。。。那有一粒新鲜鹌鹑蛋，在享用这一道菜之前，将鹌鹑蛋挤在上边，然后才享用。。

Have you ever tasted the pasta which is cooked in the hollow of fresh stalk of bamboo ?
您可曾嚐过在竹筒内所煮的意大利面 ？

Saturday, June 21, 2014

For busy people, tteokbokki are also sold in skewers called “Teok kkochi”. It is sweet and spicy. “Tteok kkochi" is mostly fried rather than boiled and the sauce is slightly different as well

"Tteokbokki"(떡볶이),also known as "Topokki", is a popular Korean snack food which is commonly purchased from street vendors or snack stores. There are many kinds of Tteokbokki, today, I am going to introduce the "Tteok-Kko- chi"/年糕烧串/떡꼬치 ​”Tteokbokki“(떡볶이),也可称为“ Topokki”， 是韩国非常普遍的一种街边或小食店的小食。有各种不同种类的炒年糕，今天，我要介绍的是"Tteok-Kko- chi"/年糕烧串/떡꼬치。甜甜辣辣的。。。

The original tteokbokki was a stir-fried dish consisting of garaetteok (가래떡, cylinder-shaped tteok) combined with a variety of ingredients, such as beef, mung bean sprouts, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and onions, and seasoned with soy sauce.Following the Korean War a new type of tteokbokki became very popular. While the older version was a savory dish, this latter type was much spicier, and quickly became more popular than the older traditional dish. In addition to traditional ingredients, this tteokbokki used gochujang, a fermented, spicy paste made from chilli peppers, along with fish cakes. Other ingredients added to tteokbokki include boiled eggs, pan-fried mandu(Korean dumplings), sausages, ramyeon (which then becomes rabokki/labokki 라볶이), a variety of fried vegetables, and cheese. These days, many kinds of tteokbokki are popular such as seafood tteokbokki(해물 떡볶이) or rice tteokbokki(쌀떡볶이Due to the constant popularity of tteokbokki, many kinds of tteokbokki have been invented. Just like other types of popular food, tteokbokki went through various fusions. For example, tteokbokki with pork cutlet is a combination of traditional tteokbokki with pork cutlet sauce and meat. There's also another type called "Shanghai Topokki" which replaced traditional red pepper sauce with the famous Chinese oyster sauce. Also, one of the famous fusions of tteokbokki among Koreans is rabokki. This is a combination of tteokbokki and ramyeon(Korean version of ramen). .

(source : wikipedia)

Mix all the ingredients to make sauce, set aside.
在一碗内，调均所有的酱料备用。

Place the rice cakes on the skewers...
将年糕串好。。。

Heat up the fry pan and place the rice cakes on it..
烧热锅，放入年糕串。。

Fry both sides of the rice cakes until golden brown...
将年糕的两面全煎至金黄色。。。

2. Place about 5 pieces of rice cakes on each of the skewer. ( P/s : If you buy the frozen rice cakes,then, you have to boil the rice cakes in a hot water for about 1 minute or until it turns soft; or even though is not the frozen one, but is not soft, please boil it it a hot water too. After boiling, please drain and rinse it )

3. Heat up the fry pan, pour in the cooking oil. Place the skewers on the pan and fry them on medium heat.

4. Fry the rice cakes until they become golden brown colour ( both sides ).

5. Brush the sauce on the surface of the rice cakes by using a brush, flip the skewers and remove from the pan as soon as possible, otherwise, it will be easily burnt because of the sauce. ( Alternatively, if you think that it is troublesome to fry it again after brushing the sauce, you may just fry the rice cakes and brush the sauce without frying it again )

6. After removing from the pan, brush the sauce on the other side (this side is not required to fry again) .

Monday, June 16, 2014

Dear friends, do you like to eat the beef in raw ? If so, you may try this Yukhoe[jukʰwe] when you visit Korea. We do also have Yukhoe[jukʰwe] Bibimbab...亲爱的朋友们，您可爱吃生牛肉片 ？ 若喜欢的话，当您到访韩国时，不妨嚐一嚐牛肉膾这一道菜。在韩国也有牛肉膾拌饭这道菜。。。

Yukhoe[jukʰwe] is a variety of hoe (raw dishes in Korean cuisine), which are usually made from raw ground beef seasoned with various spices or sauces. It is basically a Korean steak tartare. Usually the most tender part of beef will be used. The beef is thinly julienned with the fat removed, then mixed with seasoning.

Meat in Korean cuisine has highly detailed classifications regarding freshness, quality, and part differentiation for specific cooking methods. Since yukhoe uses raw beef, freshness is the most important criterion, and for this typical dish's beef it is recommended to use no more than one day after defrosting, and traditionally should not be aged more than one day after slaughtering.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Dear friends, if you have a chance to visit Jihae( 진해/ 镇海）in Korea, you may try to taste this bread ! Received this present from a friend...
亲爱的朋友们，若您有机会到访 Jihae( 진해/ 镇海），不妨试试嚐一嚐这该地区的特产。。。收到朋友送来的这礼物。。。

In Korean, "벚꽃"/"Bots KKot" means Cherry Flower; "빵/bbang" means Bread. This bread is from Jinhae(진해/镇海)。The main ingrdients for this bread are honey & red bean paste...
Jinhae is famous for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Korea, in April.Jinhae-gu (formerly known as Chinhae) is a district in Changwon City, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring
Each spring the city hosts a ten day festival, variously promoted as the Military Parade Festival or the Cherry Blossom Festival. Each spring over a million Koreans and other visitors crowd into the town to view the cherry blossoms and to see the street performers, carnival stalls and street lighting as well as the military parades

Monday, June 9, 2014

On the 17th May,2014, I was cycling from Ungilsan Station(운길산역) to Pal Dang Dam (팔당댐),it was about 60 km for me to cycle on that day. On the way, there is a shop selling the traditional Korean cylindrical containers. Korean use these cylindrical containers to store kimchi,red pepper paste,salt,soybean sauce,soybean paste, etc since Neolithic Age till now. These cylindrical containers are made of clay. I like these very much, if compared with the plastic or glass containers....We have the size as big as l.2 m high or mini size of 7 cm,etc...The Kimchi stored in this containers are very delicious....

Monday, June 2, 2014

Dear friends, have you ever tasted the seasoned dandelion leaves ? In Korean, we call it " Min-de-rae", is available in Spring....
亲爱的朋友们，您可曾嚐过凉拌蒲公英叶 ？ 在韩文，我们称它为“Min-de-rae”，在春天长得茂盛。。。
The English name, Dandelion, is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning " lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. The plant is also known as blowball,cankerwort, doon-head-clock,withch;s gowan,milk witch, lion's tooth, yellow-gowan, Irish daisy,monks-head, priest'scrown and puff-ball, other common names include faceclock,pee-a-bed,wet-a-bed,swine's snout, white endive and wild endive.
Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are good sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese.
The flower petals, along with other ingredients, usually including citrus, are used to make dandelion wine. The ground, roasted roots can be used as a caffeine-free dandelion coffee. Dandelion was also traditionally used to make the traditional British soft drink dandelion and burdock, and is one of the ingredients of root beer. Also, dandelions were once delicacies eaten by the Victorian gentry, mostly in salads and sandwiches.

Medicinal uses

Historically, dandelion was prized for a variety of medicinal properties, and it contains a wide number of pharmacologically active compounds. Dandelion is used as a herbal remedy in Europe, North America and China. It has been used in herbal medicine to treat infections, bile and liver problems,and as a diuretic.

Dangers

Dandelion pollen may cause allergic reactions when eaten, or adverse skin reactions in sensitive individuals. Contact dermatitis after handling has also been reported, probably from the latex in the stems and leaves. Due to its high potassium level, dandelion can also increase the risk of hyperkalemia when taken with potassium-sparing diuretics. The consumption of dandelion leaves has also been implicated in occurrences of fasciolosis.